When I think about true comfort, I think of a hot bowl of homemade soup on a cold day. Curling up with a great book in front of a warm fire, covered by a quilt seasoned with years. I think of cuddles from all of my children as we read Fancy Nancy for the 86th time. Of a massage chair gently rubbing my back while I receive a much-needed pedicure. Of a warm brownie just from the oven with a cold glass of milk. Of fresh-from-the-dryer sheets and starched & ironed pillowcases. (If you've never ironed and starched your pillowcases, don't knock it until you've tried it.) Sliding into those soft sheets at the end of a long day just envelopes all my senses and I'm able to finally let go of all the stresses of the day.
There are plenty of days when I don't feel needed at all, that I'm just a cook, a person to do the laundry and make sure the house is presentable. If the dishes piled up and the laundry never got done and put away, only then would someone notice that I was missing. K, L, H, and S, in his own way, do need me for more than just maid service. As a mother and wife, I want to provide a nurturing environment for my family. I want them to know that they are safe here, that nothing will hurt them while I'm around. That is, of course, if your sister refrains from hitting you with her Barbie magic wand.
This safety, this comfort comes to us as well in the form of Jesus Christ. He is our ultimate comfort. We're told to lay down our burdens, He will carry us through them. We're told in Psalm 139 that He follows us wherever we are: the depths, the heights, the wings of the morning, lands across the sea. He's there to uphold us, to sustain us no matter what the circumstances. He says in Isaiah 41:10, "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (emphasis mine). Our burden is His burden. Our sins were bought and paid for on the cross.
We're to run to Him, as a child to a father. We are His children and He loves us as such. I've always imagined myself running to Him, curling up in His lap, His loving arms wrapped around me.
That, to me, is the ultimate picture of comfort.
3 comments:
You verbalized many of my same thoughts and feelings. I agree, our only true and lasting and ultimate comfort is found only in Christ. All other comforts, while delightful, are only momentary.
I need to read this again and again today. It's one of those weeks where my resources are completely drained (sleep deprivation, viruses, traveling husband...) and I'm weepy and sensitive....Thank the LORD for sharing, for BEARING our burdens...let us pour our hearts to him!
And, my BIG GIRL had to see the dr yesterday and, drum roll please...she weighs 19 LBS! At six months. Tripled her birth weight already. Here's to our chubby, healthy babies!
Also really enjoyed the pics of the girls, the lunchbox photos...so classy and cute! And I loved the lessons from the kitchen!
(obviously I'm just catching up!)
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